Shrimp burger, ramen and more at Tokyo Tokyo

As I planned to eat at Tokyo Tokyo after Sunday service at church, I wondered when the last time I did so was. But hard as I tried, I could not remember. Two..three years? Probably four.  It's been quite a long time, for sure. And so I was kinda excited as I went to SM City Manila to meet my daughter and her beau after 5 pm. of an exceedingly wet Sunday (so wet that many Manila streets were flooded and I had to find another way 

to go to church on Taft Ave.) 

At Tokyo Tokyo, I found out how big their menu has expanded since my last time there. Not that I was completely oblivious to all those developments, I'd known from seeing posters and liking Tokyo Tokyo on Facebook that they now offer burgers and ramen. Hehe. But that they now have Shrimp Burger..now I'm surprised. Hehe. Never in my almost 45 years here on earth have I eaten a shrimp burger and so I decided at once to order it with wasabi fries (another must-try for me) and red iced tea.  And as I had been craving for maki the days that preceded Sunday, I ordered it, too. Meanwhile, the younger ones went for ramen and beef teriyaki bento meal.

Shrimp burger with wasabi fries and red iced tea, P145.

Wasabi Fries: crispy and yummy

Braised Pork Ramen, P150.

California Maki, P45.

Beef Teriyaki Bento with miso soup, iced tea and coffee jelly, P185.

Miso soup and coffee jelly

Red iced tea

The three of us shared everything and were equally full and satisfied (there's 'unli' rice here, ya know?). I, however, was the happiest because I was the "prodigal" who returned and realized what I missed all these years (my daughter and her boyfriend always eat here, they say). I was very much raving about the beef teriyaki, ramen, shrimp burger and the coffee jelly. My miniscule disappointment was that the wasabi fries wasn't as hot as I expected. I longed for a lot of wasabi in them. But oh well, I was very satisfied with all the others that we had and want to eat these again in the next few days. Hehe. What more to love about Tokyo Tokyo? Their prices don't leave you in poverty. Haha!

Turning Japanese

 I used to be at the Sidcor market every Sunday to buy our organic vegetables plus many other food items but since I found a cheaper source of these veggies at the Quezon City Memorial Circle, I now go to Centris only once in a while (once a month, or once in two months). Recently,  I visited Sidcor partly because I craved for kesong puti, salted eggs (the undyed ones) and pork liver barbecue, and partly because I wanted to try out Ramen X. I was with an appropriate companion - my daughter who loved anything Japanese. And so after doing the rounds of the stalls at the busy Sunday market and buying what we needed and liked, we proceeded to Ramen X. After a few minutes of contemplation, we ordered Spicy Chikuwa Ramen (for me) and X Ramen (for my daughter). For drinks, we had their Apple Soda and Yogurt Soda. Our first reaction when our orders were served were surprise at how big the bowls were! We were overwhelmed by their size and I almost felt full even before eating! But I was excited to taste the soup after having read a few blogs about it so dig into my bowl I did at once and finally sipped the written-about broth. Mmmm..I liked the spiciness of it but honestly wanted a bit more kick. The seafood flavor was not heavy - straightforward and devoid of complexities. The seafood rolls, which I suspected were made from squid, were fun to eat. Sorry, I can't think of a better way to describe it. :-) They looked funny to me, that's why, as they smacked of a choker that might as well grace a fashionista's neck. Haha! Well, that said, the Spicy Chikuwa Ramen was to my liking. I sampled my daughter's order too and I was a little taken aback - it tasted so familiar, so Pinoy! I almost thought I was eating Chicken Mami, not Japanese noodles. I liked, however, that it had a strong garlicky taste. Yes, lots of fried garlic bits floated on top of the soup. As for our drinks, I liked the Yogurt Soda better than the Apple Soda as it tasted quite unique while the other was predictable - I knew how it tasted even before actually taking a sip. But even though I liked my order, I was only able to eat barely half of it as I was still full from my tinapa and fried rice breakfast. And frankly, I wanted to eat my barbecued liver already so I asked from the server at the counter for a saucer to put my vinegar in. And then, without any inhibition, I attacked my barbecue while my daughter finished her ramen.  I knew that the servers at Ramen X were not exactly happy to see me eating something I bought outside inside, and I was glad not to receive any chiding. Haha! As I finished, I asked that my left-over ramen be packed for taking out and so I still had spicy ramen to enjoy at home come merienda time.

  

Ramen X at Eton Centris, Edsa corner Quezon Ave. in Quezon City.

Benches as wide as tables.

Very contemporary wall art. Very Japanese too.

The X Ramen (P189.) surprisingly tastes so Pinoy.

Spicy Chikuwa Ramen (149.)

Apple Soda, P49.

Yogurt Soda, P49.